Geneva Telegram on the 77th World Health Assembly

The 77th session of the World Health Assembly (WHA) marked significant progress in the global health agenda. A milestone was the adoption of the 14th General Programme of Work (GPW14) 2025-2028, which defines the future priorities and strategies of the World Health Organization (WHO). Another key topic was the launch of the investment round, which is expected to culminate in November at the G20 summit in Brasília, to make WHO's financing more predictable, flexible, and resilient.

The conclusion of the International Health Regulations was celebrated as a victory for multilateralism, as was the extension of negotiations on a pandemic agreement by one year. To achieve a high-quality pandemic agreement and not miss the deadline again, it was important that the WHA defined a reasonable period for the completion of the work. This allows Member States to rotate the chairpersons of the negotiating body without jeopardising the success of the work.

In view of the high-level session of the UN General Assembly on 26 September, special attention was paid to the decisions on accelerating national and global responses to antimicrobial resistance. The fight against malaria was also prominently placed on the agenda, as it had recently lost momentum and vaccination rates have declined.

In a geopolitically tense environment, however, there were also profound differences of opinion. The application for observer status for Taiwan was again rejected. On the Israel-Palestine issue, there were five rounds of voting by roll call on the resolution on the general health situation there and on a resolution adopted in December on health and humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip since October 7, which calls for the protection of civilians and medical personnel and for unhindered access to humanitarian aid and medical care. Israel was elected to the WHO's Executive Board, which also caused discussion, but succeeded without a vote. The war in Ukraine also overshadowed the meeting again, with a resolution by Russia that dealt with the health emergency in and around Ukraine in general without specifying the cause being rejected.

Finally, a resolution to "strengthen health emergency preparedness in the wake of natural disasters" caused tension over gender-specific wording. It was adopted with eight votes against.

This year's gathering reflected both the progress and challenges in global health diplomacy. The decisions and discussions of the 77th World Health Assembly will have far-reaching implications for the future health landscape.

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